We share plenty of healthy treats around here, and you can always bet they’ll be gluten- and grain-free, refined sugar-free, and, of course, guilt-free! This gluten free peach cobbler is all of those, and paleo to boot! Find my favorite healthy peach cobbler recipe below.

It’s amazing that it’s taken me this long to create a delectable, paleo-friendly, gluten free peach cobbler, seeing as how it’s my all-time favorite dessert. This healthy peach cobbler is surprisingly similar to the gluten and sugar-filled one I remember from childhood (if it doesn’t taste the same, don’t tell me. Healthy, grown-up me is convinced it does, ok?).

The truth is, it’s taken me years to nail a recipe I feel warrants sharing. For starters, paleo pie crust can be tricky. They always taste too egg-y or too almond-y or they are too thick or fall totally apart. I worked some finesse on this one, and with a little extra magic (see my tips below), I can confidently say this is the best paleo pie crust I’ve ever made. (Though the GAPS-friendly crust in my holiday cookbook is a close second!)

What is real cobbler?

In addition, I really wanted to make the type of peach cobbler my mama made when I was a kid. ↓

I’m gonna say something that might upset you. And you can feel free to debate me, but this is my truth: those crustless, biscuit-topped cobblers are blasphemy. They just don’t cut it, and they are NOT what I think of when I think of cobbler.

The cobbler I grew up eating has a crust on bottom, and one on top, pie-style. And if a cobbler doesn’t have two crusts, I don’t want it.

Here’s the thing, every paleo or gluten free peach cobbler recipe I come across seems to be the biscuit kind. So, as with most of my recipes, necessity is the mother of invention. And trust me, a legit, paleo-friendly, healthy peach cobbler is very, very necessary.

But… after a debate in my Facebook group, it turns out there are a good number of you who like the biscuit-style cobbler. To each their own I guess. I’m thinking this must be a regional thing, so you’ll have to chime in in the comments and let us know what a real cobbler is to you, and where you grew up.

How to make a crispy paleo pie crust

Let’s be honest, nothing ever quite measures up to the same taste and flavor as white flour, especially when it comes to pie crust. BUT- with the right ingredients and technique, you can get darn close.

As I was rolling this dough out, I remembered a tutorial for a puff pastry I watched a long time ago. I’ve never made a puff pastry, but I know that the key is folding it many times in many layers and rolling it and re-rolling it in order to get it flaky. That type of dough requires placing chunks of butter over and over into the layers, which will eventually result in the layers separating slightly as they bake in order to create that desirable, flaky pastry.

This pie crust is not a puff pastry, but I did borrow the technique in order to get a nice, crispy, slightly flaky crust for my gluten free peach cobbler. Rather than place butter between layers, I sprinkled a bit of arrowroot starch on the dough before each roll in order to keep the dough from becoming too sticky. If you know anything about working with paleo ingredients, you know they can be a bit finicky.

Read the instructions below for a detailed description of how to work the dough.

Instructions

In a large saucepan, combine the filling ingredients, stir, and turn heat to med-low.

In a large mixing bowl, combine almond flour, arrowroot starch, maple sugar, eggs, and water and combine using a fork or a pastry cutter. Dough will be dry and crumbly.

Add palm shortening and combine using a fork or pastry cutter, until a ball forms. Knead then with your hands until well combined.

Divide dough into two balls and prepare 8" X 8" baking dish by coating with non-stick cooking spray (see suggestion under tools above). Meanwhile, check on the filling mixture, which should be reaching a gentle boil. Allow to boil gently for a few minutes before turning to low to simmer while you finish preparing the dough.

Place first ball onto a piece of parchment paper, sprinkle a little arrowroot on top, then press it under a second piece of parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to roll it between the two pieces of parchment paper until quite thin.

Carefully remove the top piece of parchment and fold the dough over on itself twice, in thirds, then again the opposite direction, twice, until you have a square.

Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp arrowroot on top of the dough, cover it again with the top piece of parchment, and roll it out once more until thin. Again, fold it over on itself in both directions until you have a square.

Sprinkle with arrowroot once more, place the top parchment on top, and roll out until thin, about 1/8" thickness.

Remove top parchment, then gently place dough into prepared dish. An easy way to do this is to place the dish upside down on top of the dough, then flip them over together, gently pressing dough into dish and slowly removing the parchment. Carefully press together any cracks. Dough should reach up the sides of the dish to the top, outer edges, where it will meet up with the top layer of dough in step 11.

Once the filling has simmered for 5-10 minutes, remove it from the heat while you prepare the second layer of dough. Repeat steps 5-8 on the second dough ball.

Pour the filling into the prepared crust, then carefully wrap the second crust around the rolling pin and transfer it to the top of the dish. Press it to the edges of the bottom crust, and remove any excess crust hanging over the edge of the dish.

Cut a few slits in the top crust and brush it with about 1/2-1 tsp of melted ghee, then sprinkle about 1/8 tsp each cinnamon and maple or coconut sugar over the top.

Place in the oven to bake for 30-40 minutes, until slightly brown on edges. Allow to cool completely before serving, preferably with the world's best ice cream. 😉

Who cares about brownies? Okay, I like brownies… but blondies? They’re really my fave. I much prefer blondies over brownies, just like I prefer vanilla ice cream to chocolate. I hope that doesn’t mean I have to give up my lady card, because, ya know, all ladies are supposed to be gaga over chocolate. (Who am I kidding? I go gaga over chocolate too!)

These blondies are so ridiculously fast and easy to make, it would be a crime for you not to. Plus, with the versatility of topping options, you can really make them your own. The maple butter recipe I have is amazing on top of them, but a handful of pecans and chocolate chips is equally good and really fast.

They use a base of walnuts, which is great because I don’t tolerate almonds well, and so many grain-free baked goods tend to contain almond flour, particularly brownie-types. Those that are made with coconut flour tend to be too fluffy and cake-like. These have a nice, fudgy texture and the walnuts provide a neutral flavor that allows for the vanilla to really take over. Even friends who typically eat wheat have enjoyed these. Hope you enjoy them too!